Promises
by adreamer212
Summary: Promise, it was like their thing. Since the first time they met.
**AN: Hi there! :)**

 **This is an almost - abandoned story. I'm glad I picked it up months after letting it sit alone in the corner.**

 **I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing it.**

 **Please forgive my mistakes and feel free to point them out for me. Thank you for choosing this! :)**

 **You love Spemily and I love you.**

 **Pretty Little Liars is not mine. If it's mine, you'll know. (Full of Spemily of course)**

* * *

It was a beautiful summer day in Rosewood. And like every single summer day of every single year, the ten years old girl named Spencer Hastings loved to bury her face in her books. While other kids were having their fun time at some play grounds, Spencer found herself relaxing at a strange yet familiar abandoned treehouse in the wood nearby her home. The girl had discovered this place two years ago when she was chasing a bunny into the woods and just by that, the place had become her favorite spot.

Spencer loved it. It was her own world. She could read all of the books whenever she wanted with the help of a flashlight if needed. Yes, she could read them in her house without any inconvenience but she always preferred being here. It was simply because she would be alone. No one could find her, which, of course, had the same meaning of no one could tell her what to do.

She would be free.

Yeah, it was her habit. Hiding from people.

But everything had exception. Even the young Spencer Hastings had her exception at some point. Like this day, which I have to repeat, was a beautiful summer day.

After long hours hiding from reality and making new friends in her book, our little girl decided to take a small break. It would be a waste if she didn't spend some of her time to watch the sunset at that lake which was just five minutes away from here.

The lake was created somewhere near the time Spencer was born. It had been a big river before several draughts decided to turn it into a swimming pool – sized lake. Everyone seemed to be okay with that since they never had had to use its water. The lake was slowly forgotten and well, one more reason for the little Hastings to put it on her destinations list.

It took her longer than expected to get there though. She was too busy spacing out in her unarranged thoughts. It wasn't until there were water noises that brought Spencer back to this world. Though she didn't know where those noises came from, the girl had already been annoyed. No one was allowed to be here at this time. No one was allowed to be there when Spencer was there. If there were somebody, what would her "own world" mean anymore?

Carefully, the girl looked through the leaves to find who dare to violate her kingdom. The little girl planned to scare the enemy away so that she could enjoy her time like she used to. She took one more step ahead and the view slowly revealed in front of her eyes. Well, now she wasn't sure if she still wanted to scare that person. Her intruder turned out to be a girl who probably was at her age. She had long black hair and her skin was tanned. If Spencer's eyes didn't betray her, then the other girl must have brown eyes. Spencer loved brown eyes. She found blue eyes were so cold and overrated. Brown ones, on the other hand, felt so deep and warm. Taking another step, our little nerd was just a foot to touch the water. She wanted to exam the person who had her favorite eyes color more clearly. Meanwhile, the mysterious girl was swimming peacefully yet giggling time to time when she stopped and felt the cool of the wind flew through her wet skin. And her voice flustered Spencer. It sounded so joyful.

Though the Hastings girl was confused why she was still here and not out there kicking that person's ass, she rested her chin on a slim looking branch so that she wouldn't be weary after sneaking for too long. It was a bad move then. Literally. Before Spencer could question herself for those weird stuffs she was doing, that branch cracked. Without a fulcrum, lost her balance, she fell out from her hiding spot, almost faced to face with the water if she didn't put her hands down to support her body.

Of course that attracted the other girl's attention. She paused for a moment, eyeing Spencer naively then her lips broke into a beam.

"Hi." She said.

"Hi." The little dork answered, didn't bother to change her funny looking position.

"What're you doing?"

"Swi…swi… swimming." Spencer replied again, knowing she had embarrassed herself.

Surprisingly, the mysterious girl didn't laugh or make fun at her. She just put on another sweet smile, offered.

"Wanna join me?"

Ah, how dare she invited the queen to enjoy a place in her own kingdom? This girl had to go. There was no way Spencer would accept it. She wouldn't even let her stay. No freaking way.

"Okay!"

What? The little Hastings accepted that invitation. Excitedly. She walked deeper into the lake, her clothes were already wetted anyway. They took a few laps and turned out, the mysterious girl had a name. Beautiful one. Emily Fields. Just as beautiful as hers. Though it was totally, absolutely, completely hard to admit, Spencer had to say her swimming skill was nothing compared to Emily's. Water was like her home. Her kingdom.

Okay, Spencer might consider sharing this part of her place for Emily. But just because she seemed to be deeply into it. Not because of her brown eyes. Not because of her sweet voice. Not because of her innocent smile. No, not any of that.

They got out of the lake after what felt like hours but only twenty minutes. Spencer had lost count on time but the sun successfully caught her attention. Sunset. She was here for the sunset. While they were contemplating the view together, our little nerd wondered if she could ever meet Emily again. There was something about her that drew Spencer in and she was desperate to figure it out. She hated not knowing things. Though she had learned that Emily was new to Rosewood and going to the same school with her, she couldn't help but worry that they wouldn't talk like this again. She wanted them to be friends. Not acquaintances.

Why did she have to be so smart to worry about things that most kids at her age didn't? It was a curse for smart people then? But it sure did affect others. While Emily was focus on the magnificent view and Spencer was sketching a "making friend" map in her mind, a snake found its way to attack the swimmer. Emily immediately held her leg, her face grimaced with pain.

"Ouch."

As a ten years old, in a woods, with a stranger, Emily reacted exactly like what she was supposed to do. Tears already covered her face, hands never left her wound, the girl spoke between her sobbing.

"It's a snake. A snake. I'm gonna die. Spencer, I'm gonna die."

As a ten years old, in a woods, with a stranger, Spencer reacted exactly like… Spencer. She grabbed a twig on the ground, pushed that snake away, then ripped a piece from her now dried shirt to bandage the snakebite. Our little nerd stated firmly.

"No, it's an Eastern Ribbon Snake. They're non venomous. You're not going to die."

Well, Spencer was just as Emily's age. How could the little victim rely on those words? Plus, she couldn't let anything get through her mind right now but the fact that she was bit by a freaking snake. Kept crying, Emily started somewhat sounded like her will.

"I haven't said "I love you" to my mom today. I haven't called my dad to tell him I miss him. I haven't fed Dory this morning. Oh my God! I haven't even found out if Troy and Gabriella are gonna last forever. Spencer, I ha…"

Okay, if I somehow had to say goodbye without those things were done, I would probably be panic like her. Especially that last one. But Spencer came to the rescue. She tightened the bandage once more time, said again with more confidence.

"Emily! Look at me!"

Our poor little girl looked up to meet the Hastings girl's determined eyes. Brown eyes though. They calmed her a lot. She had stopped sobbing, wiped tears from her face, waiting for the other girl to continue.

"I'm not letting you die."

"Promise?" Emily asked, sniffing a bit.

"I promise!"

…

Spencer kept her promise. She didn't let Emily die that day.

They became friends just like that. Without a map.

* * *

It was no longer summer now. In fact, it was autumn. An autumn of two years after the story of Spencer and Emily's friendship had started. Our little nerd was, well, still a little nerd. She was anxious and had been walking back and front for hours. Her room was full of books and papers. It was the night before the final of Western Schools spelling contest and unsurprisingly, Spencer had made it to the top ten. A lot of people in Rosewood had faith in her. It had been a long time since this town had anyone that could break through the place's barrier.

Spencer hated it. Receiving faith. That was not her thing. That was Melissa's thing. Her sister was so good at this. She did well at everything she participated in. Every freaking thing. The younger sister, on the other hand, didn't get used to it. The Hastings believed in her was a rare thing that happened once in a blue moon. It stressed her. It gave her so much pressure. She didn't want to screw it up. She didn't want to disappoint them. She didn't want to lose.

She had to be the winner.

Spencer had been studying like crazy the last three weeks. She ate with a book on her hand, slept in a bunch of papers and didn't forget to pin some sticky notes in the bathroom to make sure she had used every single minute to swallow as much words as she could. It began to become an obsession since Spencer had had a weird dream last night that the word "eudaemonic" woke her up and gave her a long lecture about happiness. The little girl just couldn't let her mind at rest though. The more people "seemed" to believe in her, the less she believed in herself. She focus too much on what she had to do rather than what she could do.

While Spencer was drowning in depression and kind of planning how to run away, she heard talking noises downstairs. The girl secretly wished she didn't have to see any guest right now. She had no time for pointless courtesy talk. In fact, she had informed her family not to send anyone in at the moment. Yet, she had one little exception. Well, you know who. Having Emily here couldn't help Spencer put more words in her brain. Honestly, it was quite the opposite. But she didn't care. She just liked having the girl's company. And just her luck, the door opened, revealed exactly the only person she allowed to meet.

Emily stepped into the room, took a moment to exam the mess on the ground. She then squinting her eyes, pretended to find Spencer and acted worriedly.

"Spencer! Spence! Talk to me! Where're you? I can't see you through this mess."

As a respond, the girl blinked emotionlessly, spoke in an unexcited tone though her mood sure was lightened the moment she saw her friend.

"Ha – ha. Very funny."

The swimmer smiled. She had gotten used to Spencer's reaction. She might sound sarcastic sometimes, well, most of the times and be grumpy when she was stressed but she undoubtedly was a wonderful person. So yeah, Emily wasn't vexed. As our little nerd was moving to lay down on the ground, Emily quietly walked over, laid next to her. They stared at the ceiling for a moment before Emily raised her voice.

"I think you should go to bed early tonight."

"Why? Because "you need to save energy for the big day" or "tomorrow is really important" or, or because "you can't make any mistake"? If you're gonna use any of those, don't! It won't work." Spencer breathed heavily after let it all out, eyes never left the ceiling.

Emily turned her head to look at Spencer who now was still frowning, said lightly.

"Those reasons have never been on my mind." Our swimmer's words caught the little Hastings's attention. She glanced over Emily, waiting for the girl to continue. And her friend did after pulling on a serious face. "I said that because you look like crap."

Spencer blinked. The answer was way too far from her "ideal" responds. Realizing how silly she was, the little nerd chuckled, apologized.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"You didn't."

"I just, I'm so scared."

"You shouldn't be."

"No, Em. You don't understand. All this contest, this responsibility, this… stupid stuffs. I can't handle them. I hate being at position like this. It's so stressful! I feel like I can't breathe, like I'm drowning. What if I lose? Will people still look at me the same? Will I be the disappointment of Rosewood? Will my parents still love me?" A tear finally escaped her eyes and Spencer didn't try to keep it back.

Emily's mind was in its process. She couldn't please Spencer's questions. The girl was right. She could not understand that since she could never be as good as Spencer. Plus, she was just twelve and those were out of the reach of her knowledge. Yet, Emily's heart was different.

She turned her whole body to face Spencer, stared at her eyes determinedly, her dark brown eyes had never been so bright.

"Do you trust me?" She said.

"Yes." Spencer mimicked her previous move, laid on one side of her body to full facing Emily, silently responded.

Our swimmer grinned, cleared her throat then continued.

"And I trust you. No matter win or lose, I know you'll learn lots of new things tomorrow. And that you'll enjoy the time with people who have the same interest. At least you've made it there where so many couldn't be. They don't have the right to judge you so their attitudes toward you don't matter. They don't matter. You do!"

Spencer could vividly felt her lips had curved to both side, created a smile that revealed her teeth. She didn't feel stressed anymore. She felt weird. Happily though. How come several words could brighten someone up that easily?

Whilst Spencer was playing with her smile, Emily grinned mischievously, added.

"Plus, I can see you have quite strong feet."

"So…?"

"So you're gonna kick some ass tomorrow." The swimmer said, didn't miss a beat.

Spencer giggled then burst into laughter. It felt so good when she could ultimately laugh out loud after hours of worry. As she getting back to silent, Emily raised her pinky, looked at Spencer sincerely, smiling.

"Promise me you won't be worried about others but yourself and just try your best in anything?"

"I promise." The little Hastings replied three seconds later, her eyes couldn't be shinier.

…

Spencer kept her promise. She won that contest. And several ones later.

They became best friends just like that. Without any surprise.

* * *

It was not a peaceful time anymore. It was the night they found Maya's body. You know, Maya, Emily's girlfriend. Yeah, she was murdered. The night was already tough for them since they had discovered Mona was A all the time. It was like the biggest back – stabbing in the girls' life. Hanna mostly though. But they shared the same suffer and plus, Spencer just came back from the death. The not – so – little nerd was almost killed tonight. Yet, as if the universe believed they could handle more than just that. More than just almost lost a friend.

Emily was shattered with the news.

The night was dark but it would never be darker than Emily's sorrow. She could feel her chest was burning with anger and sadness yet, at the same time, couldn't feel anything at all. Her legs weakened each microsecond though her eyes was telling that she would have enough energy to cry till the last day of Earth. It hurt so badly. So badly that Emily could just rip her heart out of her chest to stop this ruthless pain.

Everything was a blur.

Emily didn't know how could she change and end up on her bed right now but she also didn't care because a part of her mind had gone with Maya to a place that obviously didn't belong to Earth. She kept staring at an uncertain point in the air without actually forming a thought. Though she was tired, sleeping suddenly seemed so… selfish.

Wait, Maya was the selfish one. Maya left her. She just disappeared to a better place without caring a tiny bit about Emily. That was right. Maya was so selfish. Emily hated Maya so much. She shouldn't have died. She shouldn't have gotten killed.

Oh!

She shouldn't have been involved with Emily.

Turned out, Emily was the problem. That was clearer now. Maya was murdered because of her. The tanned girl didn't know loving someone could kill them. She absolutely didn't know. Tears rolled down from her eyes, dropped on something seemed like her pillow. But her "pillow" suddenly moved a little, raised its hand to wipe her face.

Emily didn't look up. She didn't need to. It was not the first time she laid her head on Spencer's chest. Now she understood why she couldn't realize she had moved from the street to her bed. Spencer was with her the whole time. Spencer's comfort always made Emily feel safe enough to not care about others but herself. She didn't know why though. Maybe she just didn't have the need to be deliberated while she was with Spencer. Maybe because she knew Spencer wouldn't leave.

Oh, right.

Spencer was there. Always. Everyone had left her but her beloved best friend was still there. She was like the only light in this dark hollow moment. Emily's heart somehow felt less painful yet more of an unidentified feeling.

As Emily's breath started working to get back to its normal rhythm, Spencer breathed out a relief. However, she couldn't figure out why the world was so unfair. To Emily. Her best friend was the sweetest, nicest person she had known but everything always went wrong with her. Alison, Maya, Paige, Samara… Ugh, why the hell did she have to be with those worthless people? They didn't deserve her. They didn't have enough ability to give her best friend a happy relationship. Even Maya.

Leaving, leaving and leaving.

If they loved leaving so much then they shouldn't have come. They should have just minded their own business and let Emily be with her. Emily would never be forsaken. Spencer would never do that. Spencer knew she shouldn't thinking about Maya that way. The girl was just murdered. But she couldn't help it. She was so angry. Anything that made Emily cry would anger her.

Emily shifted a bit, woke Spencer up from her thoughts. The – not – so – little nerd turned her head, firmed a slight kiss into Emily's hair, eyes closing.

"Promise me you will never leave me alone?" The tanned girl tightened her grip onto Spencer's shirt, asked hoarsely.

"Promise."

…

Spencer kept her promise. She was there. Always.

They became closer just by that. Without a warning.

* * *

It was a terrible time. Spencer and Emily was having a big fight. But this was not something new. Really. They just couldn't get through a month without fighting at least three times. Hanna and Aria had tried to reconcile them at first but they eventually stopped doing that. They was tired of doing something that would be done without any help. Yes, no matter how angry the girls were, they always got back together. That couldn't be changed. So yeah, Hanna and Aria subtly escaped every time the fight started. Every time.

Just like now.

"What the hell was you thinking?" Emily questioned angrily, possibly didn't care if Spencer would answer or not.

"I was just following the clue. If I could find out where the person who bought these stuffs lives, we would know who A is." The best friend responded determinately.

"No, Spencer. You weren't following any clue. It was a trap. It was a stupid trap and you were stupid enough to step in."

"What was I supposed to do? That was the only clue that could solve the mess of our lives. I just wanted to get rid of this faceless coward and live a normal life like others. A life without A, don't you want that?"

Spencer was so pissed off. Emily had no right to scold at her like this. What she had done was for all of them. How could the person who was closest to her not understand this? After giving a reasonable reason, our nerd believed her best friend would shut up instantly. Anything that could get back their lives was worth trying.

But she was wrong.

"You was almost killed Spencer! What would have happened if I hadn't tracked your phone? What would have happened if I hadn't sensed you were lying when you said you would be at the lake house? A is torturing us every day and I honestly cannot find a word to describe how disgusted I am with him, her, it whatever. But, I would rather live a life with A than a life without you."

Emily didn't mean to blurt out the last sentence. She felt like she would lose this argument if she showed her softness. She couldn't help it though. That was why this fight happened. She almost lost Spencer once before. She just couldn't stand the idea A would do something to her beloved best friend again. Just the thought of it easily sent tears to her eyes.

That was it. She couldn't argue more. Tears were her sign of losing.

And Emily's tears were always Spencer's sign of losing. Spencer understood it now. Emily had her reason to act this way. Spencer was wrong from the beginning. That was a dangerous place yet she had decided to go alone. She didn't want the girls to get hurt but she forgot they would be more painful if she didn't come back. Someone would be really hurt if that happened. Someone who couldn't handle another leaving of her loved ones.

Spencer almost broke her promise. She stepped forward, maybe ran forward, opened her arms for Emily. The dark brown eyed girl cried a little harder, clinging tightly on her shoulders. It felt so good to keep Emily this close. To make her best friend feel safe.

To make herself feel safe.

"I'm sorry."

The tanned girl didn't reply for a long moment. She was too busy making sure she wasn't imagining all of this. As her crying was about to stop yet her hold onto Spencer was still firmed, Emily asked.

"Promise me you won't go to any dangerous place alone?"

"I promise." Closing her eyes, Spencer said. Emily didn't need to ask, she was about to do that too. For her.

…

Spencer kept her promise. She never went finding clues alone again.

They became something just by that. Without a definition.

* * *

It was the time when time didn't matter anymore. Spencer was helping Emily pack her clothes. No, our swimmer wasn't moving to other place. She had a three days vacation at her grandma's house. But that was not it. That house was in the same town of an old hospital which the girls assumed it kept A's profile. They was desperate to get it in order to stop this nightmare yet all of them couldn't go. Since the parents knew more about A, they kept the girls as close to home as possible. They had curfews, limited calling numbers, picking up like they were in kindergarten and so much more. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately, The Fields figured Emily would be better if she spent some days with her grandma who lived in a really nice house. They apparently didn't care about the house. They sent her there because it was not in Rosewood. Yupe, that was it.

And yes, Emily had the responsibility to collect the clue while she was there. It was hazardous. At least for Spencer. Her friend had a lot of things to do to get it. Lying to go to the hospital, searching the file whilst being careful to not be caught, going under A's nose… What if A got to the file first? What if A found out Emily was there to expose him, her, it?

There were so much for Spencer to be worried about yet the tanned girl seemed to be really calm.

"It's a hospital, Spencer."

"So?"

"It's a public place. I'll be fine."

Spencer had a weird feeling about this. She didn't know why but her heart was telling her something was going to go wrong. Spencer wanted to say something, anything to change Emily's mind but she also knew her best friend wouldn't listen to her. The girl stopped helping, kept silent for too long that Emily had to speak up.

"Okay, tell me a thing that will reduce your concerns, I'll do it."

"Don't go."

Emily rolled her eyes. Classic stubborn Spencer.

"C'mon, anything."

Thinking for a couple minutes, a thought crossed Spencer's mind. She moved from her spot to sit next to Emily on the girl's bed, linked their fingers together and looked directly in her beautiful dark brown eyes.

"Promise me you will come back safe?"

Emily smiled coyly, recognized her familiar line had just left Spencer's lips. She put her free hand on Spencer's, answered with full belief.

"I promise."

…

Spencer was driving to that hospital despite her parents' words. She couldn't follow any rule right now. She had called Emily countless times all day but the girl didn't pick up. Maybe the swimmer just forgot her phone at her grandma's and nothing terrible happened but no one could guarantee that for her. Even if someone could, Spencer was not going to believe them. She had to check by herself.

Spencer was completely furious. She was so mad at Emily. She was going to yell at her for not answering the phone. She was going to give her a long speech and change her ringtone to the loudest one on the list. Or she could abandon her best friend from doing anything alone. Yes, she should do that.

She should have done that from the start.

Because she shouldn't have let Emily go.

Because she felt regretful already.

Things didn't need to go wrong before she repented. Spencer just realized that now. She wouldn't make this mistake again. Emily had to be by her side. Yes, that would be the next thing she did when she saw Emily.

Luckily, right the moment Spencer turned her wheel to an empty spot on the street to park her car, Emily was in the hospital's garden which was not so far from her place. The tanned girl was holding a folder. Ah, so she had completed her mission without any inconvenience. Spencer smiled to herself, kept waving though it was dark out there. Emily couldn't see her. Frankly, she didn't even look over at Spencer's position. All of her attention was on something which was out of Spencer's sight. But it was okay. At least now they could do everything together. Spencer excitedly crossed the street, attempted to call Emily's name.

With a few more steps, the Hastings girl got a better view but suddenly stopped. The word stuck in her throat when she recognized who her friend was with.

Paige.

In a black hoodie. With a gun on her hand. Pointing at Emily.

A spark came up with a deafening explosion and Spencer's best friend was on the ground.

Spencer would chase and catch Paige. No, Spencer would catch her and shoot her with her own gun. One, two or three shoots? It didn't matter. She would shoot her until she felt that bitch had paid enough. She would destroy her.

But she wouldn't.

Spencer kneeled down next to Emily in an instant, put her hand under the tanned girl's neck to raise her up. Emily was crying with pain and Spencer didn't know she was too until her tears dropped on the other girl's face. The light brown eyed girl finally experienced this feeling for the first time. The feeling of losing somebody she loved. Really loved. What the hell was this pain? Spencer didn't ask for this. This was killing her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her words trembled on her lips.

"Em… please…"

The swimmer noticed her voice. Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to talk. "S…s…" The poor girl couldn't form a word, blood had filled her throat already. She tried to look up through her tears to meet Spencer's gaze but it didn't last long since she was drifting into her unconsciousness. Emily blinked rapidly, gave some efforts to wake herself up. When she didn't open her eyes in the process, Spencer's heart stopped. The smart girl's mind went blank. She wanted to wake Emily up but no word left her lips. It just couldn't escape through the painful mess in Spencer's chest.

The scene took all of her power away, Spencer weakly shook her best friend in hope she could look at her again. But Emily didn't respond. Her eyes closed tightly as if she was in a really deep sleep. Even through Spencer's tears, Emily was still beautiful. How come a person like this never had nice things? How come a person like this never had happiness? It had to be Paige. It had to be someone Emily used to love. Why? Had betrayal been trendy lately? Or had Emily done some very bad things in her previous life? Spencer knew it. She never trusted Paige. That girl had "shady" written all over her face. All of Emily's love interests had that sign. All of them. Emily should have been with the best or with nobody at all. Emily should have been with the best or just been there with Spencer. That could work. She would protect Emily. She would never leave. She would never betray her.

Yeah, Emily should have been with no one.

And stayed with Spencer.

Because Spencer loved her more than anyone had ever loved her. They didn't love Emily like Spencer did.

Spencer got it now. Why all of her relationships never worked. Why she never truly felt the chemistry between her and her partners. Why she could easily ditch her date to be at Emily's and watch their favorite movie though the plan had just made at the last minute.

Why she never liked Emily's girlfriends.

Spencer knew all of that now. The answer had always been there but no one really looked at it. Or because Spencer was afraid to look for it.

The rejection. Their friendship.

Oh, their precious friendship. The reason Spencer had to say no to her heart.

Yet at this moment, Spencer wished she had let Emily know. She was an idiot. It was Emily Fields. How could she lose their friendship when Emily would do whatever it took to keep it? She was so silly. How could she think so little about this wonderful human being?

Oh, she was so silly.

Or maybe Spencer was wrong. Yes, Spencer definitely was wrong.

Emily was anything but a nice girl.

She actually was a terrible person.

Emily didn't keep her promise. She didn't come back safe that day.

She was the worst.

How could she do this to Spencer? How could she find it in her heart to break her promise? Spencer had done nothing but trying to keep her own. She practically did everything she said. Everything Emily said. Yet, here she was, breaking her first promise with Spencer. It made Spencer angry. Emily did not have the right to do that. Emily did not have the right to betray her. Spencer was going to wake her up, to let her know this was not allowed.

Keeping promise was not really that hard.

It was not.

And Spencer was going to prove it.

Spencer was going to keep her first promise.

She would not let Emily die.

…

Emily didn't come back safe.

But Spencer kept her promise. She didn't let Emily die that day.

Emily came back with a bullet hole in her stomach and twenty two hours in the operating room.

* * *

The light brown eyed girl stepped into Emily's recovery room, exhaustion stretched several lines on her face but her smile never dropped. She had successfully stolen the girl back from the death. Nothing could sadden her by now.

As Spencer got closer, the tanned girl turned to look at her, smiling yet still unable to speak anytime soon. She held Spencer's gaze for a really long moment, her eyes somewhat in Spencer's state of mind, looked apologetic. Spencer gently took the swimmer's hand, linked their fingers together and hugged it with both hands then placed it on her chest. She leaned her head on their linked hands, eyeing Emily in an unreadable look which make the other girl tilted, formed a funny look on her face. The Hastings's lips curved, created a half – smile, whispered like she worried loud voice would break her friend.

"You're not allowed to make promise anymore."

Emily chuckled at her words but immediately twisted into a grimace since a painful feeling sent from her wound reminded her that she was still in the hospital. Spencer's heart shrunk. She could tell it really hurt through those tiny beads of sweat on the girl's forehead. She released one of her hand which was holding Emily's, carefully took out her handkerchief and wiped Emily's sweat away.

"Careful! You have to get well soon. I have something really important to tell you."

When the pain slightly faded, Emily went back to her "curious" face. Her brows frown. The girl probably was frustrated since she could barely said a thing. Even just a question. Spencer couldn't help but smile at the view. She knew exactly what Emily would say if she could right now and that eased her a lot. Because she understood her friend so well. Because she finally remembered they were best friend and the best part of being Emily Fields's best friend was you couldn't just stop it. Emily Fields would never "unfriend" you because of some silly things you said. Because of some silly things Spencer was going to say.

"I'm gonna make a new promise with you."

 _What promise?_

Emily didn't need to ask. It was just…there. Waiting for Spencer to see it.

And Spencer did. Her face turned serious as she dropped her handkerchief to caress Emily's cheek. Her thumb shakily touch the girl's lower lip as if she was the most precious piece in the museum. Spencer collected all of her courage, leaning in for an innocent kiss.

Salty. The taste of Emily's lips.

It was the tears' fault when they took over Emily's beautiful face hours ago. It clenched Spencer's heart. She didn't want to remember that horrible scene again. It was too painful to think of. Trying gently and slowly, Spencer took away that taste. With her own.

And after years, Spencer finally solved the myths in people words.

That the "right" feeling, was real.

That the heart could change its rhythm. To match your other half's.

People lied though. Time didn't stop. Time flew crazily to the moment of their first meet and recreated perfectly each memory they had been through in her mind. And when those small pieces stood next to each ones, this exact moment made sense. It was like the map of destiny, painting just for this to happen.

Spencer whimpered, pressed a little harder before she leaned back. She just had to make sure this was not a dream because the hand which was clinging tightly onto her collar, keeping her close was really Emily's.

The smart girl's eyes opened as they separated, her lips mildly parted, wanting more. She leaned further, placed another kiss on Emily's forehead then looked down into her gorgeous dark brown eyes, breathed out.

"This one."

…

Spencer kept her promise. They never parted. Just like always.

They became…, you know. Each other's.

* * *

 **AN: Tell me what you think?**


End file.
